Trying to Kill Each Other Doesn't Count as Flirting (or Does it?)

Chapter 22

Normally, the estates of wealthy people were cold and unwelcoming. Even (F/N)'s childhood home had seemed that way at times. Shigeshige's palace, however, had always felt safe and warm. To (F/N), it had felt like home.

That was no longer the case. With Nobunobu as the head of the household, (F/N) could feel the cold hints of frostbite nipping at her fingers. The brilliant décor seemed to have faded to grey and black, to the point where even (F/N)'s room, with anime posters plastered to the walls, felt dull and devoid of color. She sat there, wrapped in a blanket with the TV blaring in the background, and wondered what was going to happen to her now.

Before, Nobunobu had wanted to send her away. She didn't know if that was still the case, and she didn't ask. He wasn't exactly an approachable person, with his sour face and short temper. She'd heard he'd once killed a servant for laughing in his presence, and while she didn't know if that was true, she'd met him three times, and had to say the rumors didn't do him justice. If anything, he was even more horrible than she'd heard.

During her last audience with him, she'd contemplated many different ways of taking his life. Her hand had hovered over her kunai, ready to dig one into his throat—avenge Shigeshige's death—but in the Shogun's audience chamber, surrounded by Mimawarigumi officers, an action like that would be suicide, even for her.

(F/N) sighed, and stood up, taking her blanket with her, and crossing her room to the window. She wanted out of there. She wanted to see Sougo, and Kagura, and Hijikata, but the palace was even more of a prison than her parents' home had been. She'd asked several times if she could be let out, with or without an escort, and every time she received nothing more than a pitying shake of the head.

I hate these people.

She could escape. It would be difficult, but possible. She could leap out of the window onto the roof, and slip out through a break in the guards, but that would take effort, and as things stood, (F/N) felt nothing more than fatigue in her bones, and weights pulling the lids down over her eyes.

She slumped down on the floor, closing her eyes, and listening to the comforting murmur of the news host's voice. Sleep, that's what she wanted. She wanted to sleep and never wake up again.

As her consciousness faded, the TV suddenly flickered, and the low drone of the man's voice was replaced with the shrill voice of a woman.

"Breaking news! In the wake of Shigeshige-sama's death, the bakufu has decided the Shinsengumi must pay the price for their failure to protect the former shogun. From this day forward, Edo's police force has been permanently disbanded, and Kondo Isao and Matsudaira Katakuriko are set to be executed."

(F/N) shot up, and leapt for the remote, mashing the rewind button. She watched the announcement over and over, until she thought her ears would bleed.

The Shinsengumi was gone.

Kondo and Matsudaira were going to be killed.

For a moment, she sat still, listening to the blood thundering in her ears, and feeling the cold chill slowly creeping up her fingertips. Then she headed for her closet, and dug around at the bottom until she found what she was looking for—the ninja outfit Sa-chan had given her.

"Looks like I'll be making my escape, after all."

~o0o~

All it took was took was a mask, some paperclips, and a few borrowed pairs of handcuffs for (F/N) to make her escape.